Chapter 2

[This stop is Grudge, Grudge Station.]

[The doors will open on your right...]

A suffocating silence hung over the subway inside this ghost story.

I was contributing to that silence.

Even with ghost stories I already knew, a thumbnail in my Wetube recommendations was enough to scare me into clicking “Not interested” and moving on. And someone like me was supposed to survive inside one?

'Just kill me instead...'

That would be a peaceful death by comparison.

I was almost too drained to even work out how any of this had happened. I kept both hands pressed against my face, wishing I could deny reality.

That was when something blinked into view.

[First Prize: Records of Dark Exploration Real Goods Box]

“...?!”

I raised my head.

Something like a notepad was flying around, following my gaze. I could see it with my eyes closed or open.

A scrap of paper that looked as though someone had torn it out of a notebook and folded it, darting this way and that...

“This is...”

Wait. No one else seemed able to see it.

I immediately shut my mouth. Drawing attention to myself in a situation like this would be stupid.

Instead, I poked the notepad floating before me, trying to make the gesture look as natural as possible.

It fluttered.

To my astonishment, the notepad moved as if unfolding and spat out something small.

“...!”

I hurriedly caught it, concealing it with my hand.

It was... a phone grip.

A very plain black phone grip, its only distinguishing feature a gold X marked in the center.

But that very design told me exactly what it was.

'It's the merch.'

The merchandise from the <Records of Dark Exploration> pop-up store I had visited right before waking up in this bizarre situation!

It was one of the things I had bought today.

I picked up the phone grip with trembling hands.

As for what this thing did in the story...

* * *

[Memorial Griptok]

: A C-grade item appearing in <Records of Dark Exploration>.

When attached to a smartphone, it displays text remembered by the user as clearly organized pages.

Standard issue for Grade 9 personnel of the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau, under the Ministry of Environment.

* * *

'It displays memories as text...'

Then, could it...?

With trembling hands, I peeled the backing off the grip's adhesive and immediately attached it to my smartphone.

At that instant, the passages from <Records of Dark Exploration> that I remembered only in fragments took on a clear shape and layout, appearing as a page on my phone screen.

* * *

Records of Dark Exploration / Ghost Stories

[Welcome to the Abyss Transit Authority]

: A ghost story appearing in <Records of Dark Exploration>. Its Daydream Inc. identification code is Qterw-D-16.

An insane ghost story whose escape difficulty towers above that of every other early Dusk (D)-grade Darkness entry.

And the Field Exploration Team suffers eternally.

A total of 56 explorations have been recorded.

* * *

“...!”

So, this meant...

'The merchandise I bought actually works?'

Come to think of it, the black merchandise box resting on my lap had vanished without my noticing.

'That box... turned into that notepad and spat out the merchandise I bought?'

What kind of insanity was this?

No, still, this was definitely to my advantage.

This ghost-story universe I had entered, <Records of Dark Exploration>—did you have any idea how many hardcore internet veterans had poured their creative energy into it? There were literally hundreds of ghost stories.

Naturally, recalling all of them on demand, as easily as opening a page, was difficult.

And in true ghost-story fashion, they didn't explicitly spell out how to survive. Readers had to draw their own conclusions from the stories, making it even harder to find the right answer in a new situation.

'But now I can check everything I've read as written text, all at once.'

If that was possible, the first thing I needed to look at was...

'Previous escapes!'

I immediately scrolled down the wiki page.

After breathlessly reading all the way through “3.2 Exploration Records”...

“...”

I quickly reached a conclusion.

'I've got it.'

In other words, I had worked out my own answer for which station to get off at.

But there was a problem.

“...”

I turned toward the people in my car.

Eight young new recruits in total, including me.

After panicking at the sight of two people being dismembered live before their eyes, they were barely regaining their composure and beginning to talk.

“What was that just now... Grudge Station? They mean a grudge, like when you're angry at someone... right?”

“Yes...”

“Ha, no calls, no data, seriously... God, what the hell is happening...?”

“...”

Right. The problem was how to convince these strangers, who had no reason to trust one another, to get off at the right station.

'I need to get as many people as possible to leave with me, somehow.'

I clenched my fists.

Had I suddenly realized that the extras sacrificed in this ghost-story universe were real people too, and become filled with a noble sense of duty to save their lives?

Well... um, of course, as a fellow human being, I did feel that way too. But that wasn't my top priority.

The real reason I was so desperate was...

'I can't get off alone...!'

That's right.

A lot of these stations looked utterly deranged.

I was supposed to walk out alone through a station filled with eyeballs, a pitch-black station, or a station flipped upside down?

Just imagining it did more than give me cold sweats. I felt like I might drop onto all fours and start crawling.

'The odds of me fainting halfway through and failing to escape: over ninety percent...!'

No. Please save me.

'I have to convince them somehow!'

I immediately opened my mouth, then shut it again.

'Still, blurting out stuff about supernatural phenomena and Darkness would be idiotic.'

Who wanted to admit they were trapped in something out of an RPG Maker horror game? They would either refuse to believe it and mock me viciously, or believe it and panic even harder.

'Slowly... Start with trust.'

One person first.

If I could firmly convince just one or two people, herd mentality would make it easier for everyone else to follow us off the train.

'Let's see. Someone who needs help, or gives me an opening to build a connection...'

“Ha... This is like some ghost story on Wetube.”

Found one!

“Did you say... a ghost story?”

“Oh.”

A woman with a bob haircut and a composed demeanor nodded, looking a little flustered.

“Yes. Um, I, uh, watch ghost stories on Wetube sometimes, and this reminded me of them.”

“Could you tell me more? This clearly doesn't seem like an ordinary situation. I think we should share whatever information we can.”

“Oh, I wouldn't call it information... It's just that everything literally feels like a ghost story. The lecture hall suddenly turning into a subway, people... dying like that.”

Her face grew a little pale, perhaps as she recalled the insane dismemberment show we had just witnessed.

I understood. I really wanted to throw up too.

Let's both put that out of our minds as quickly as possible.

“Oh, I'm sorry. Talking about it suddenly...”

“No. I feel the same way. With something so absurd happening, I can barely think straight.”

The woman gave a faint, weary laugh.

“Oh, come on. You've seemed the most clearheaded out of anyone here.”

She could only say that because she hadn't yet seen me faint with perfect composure.

“Huh?”

And, surprisingly, around then someone actually approached me first.

For a perfectly reasonable reason, too.

“Um, you're the person who was sitting next to me earlier, right?”

It was a curly-haired man with a rather guileless face.

'Come to think of it, he did sit beside me in the lecture hall.'

The recruit looked as though he hadn't managed to join any of the groups talking. Rubbing the back of his neck, he glanced between me and the woman I'd been speaking to, then held out a hand for a handshake.

“My name is Baek Saheon.”

“...!”

For a moment, I nearly forgot to shake his hand.

Baek Saheon?

'He's a Named character.'

* * *

Records of Dark Exploration / Daydream Inc.

/ Characters

Baek Saheon

: An employee of Daydream Inc. appearing in <Records of Dark Exploration>.

Final rank: Section Chief. Total explorations: 106, including 17 special cases recorded on the wiki.

Nickname: Viper.

* * *

He was an employee who had played an active role several times in <Records of Dark Exploration>.

I looked up at the rather timid-looking curly-haired man and inwardly groaned.

'This guy... is Baek Saheon?'

He didn't quite fit the image.

Still, there was something deeply strange about seeing an employee from a ghost-story universe whom I had only ever encountered as text.

Meanwhile, the bob-haired woman who had first brought up ghost stories held out her hand.

“Even with things like this, we should at least introduce ourselves. I'm Go Youngeun.”

I'd never heard that name. And an employee whose real name I didn't know meant one of two things.

They had handled the ghost stories relatively easily and left the company early.

Or they had died early.

'Damn it...'

There were a few Named Employees who appeared only under nicknames or code names, but their defining characteristics were so pronounced that I would have recognized them on sight.

This bothered me. I quickly shook off the lingering thought and hid my reaction.

“I'm Kim Soleum.”

The handshakes ended quickly, and we naturally settled into the subway seats to continue talking.

In the meantime, the others seemed to have split into distinct groups.

“Oh, those people... I think they're trying to talk to the car ahead somehow?”

“Looks like it.”

Moving between cars was forbidden in this ghost story. Sure enough, they soon gave up gesturing and came back.

“What do we do? We can't communicate with the car ahead at all. And it looks like there's a fight going on in there...”

Another station announcement descended upon the anxious, restless passengers.

This time, though, the key word had a different feel.

[This stop is Rapture, Rapture Station.]

“Huh?”

The murmuring stopped at once.

“Rapture?”

“Um, doesn't rapture sound like something good? Maybe...”

No.

'You can't judge this so simply...!'

I gritted my teeth, recalling the exploration records I'd just read.

For starters, the theme of the station names changed every time this ghost story appeared.

That meant it was impossible to escape by finding an exact word in a previous case, something like “Get off at this station” or “That station is the right answer.”

'But you can look for patterns.'

Like this.

* * *

Records of Dark Exploration / Ghost Stories

/ Welcome to the Abyss Transit Authority

3.2 Exploration Records (Recorded Through No. 56)

1. Stations named after colors, such as Red, Yellow, and Blue.

: 2 people escaped successfully (Attempt: Blue Station)

2. Stations named after body parts, such as Left Arm, Cornea, and Heart.

: Escape failed (Attempt: Cochlea Station)

3. Stations named after serial killers, such as ■■, ■■■■, and ■■■.

: 12 people escaped successfully (Attempt: ■■■■ Station)

4. Stations named after years, such as 2008, 2012, and 2016.

: Escape failed (Attempt: 2024 Station)

5. Stations named after illnesses, such as Asthma, Stroke, and Glaucoma.

: 3 people escaped successfully (Attempt: Common Cold Station)

[Show More]

* * *

See? Even through all 56 cases, there was no connection between how positive a station name sounded and the odds of escape.

But at this rate, people were about to pour out at Rapture Station.

[The doors will open on your left...]

Of all things, the platform we had arrived at looked bright and pleasant.

'Damn it.'

At the sight of the station, clean and bright like a brand-new stop in a newly developed city, I could feel the mood shift decisively.

“Oh...!”

“Sh-should we get off here and find someone? This place actually looks normal...”

Their faces brightening, people began edging toward the doors.

No!

'My potential companions!'

And my sanity, if I had to witness what happened to them!

'Goddamn it.'

In the end, I ran over and blocked the doors again.

“...!”

“Wh-what the hell?”

“Please wait.”

[The platform screen doors are opening.]

“Are you certain?”

“Sorry...?”

“Certain?”

“Yes. Certain this place is safe. Or do you at least have a theory?”

I deliberately shifted my gaze.

“I think most of you would agree this situation feels like a ghost story.”

As everyone followed my gaze to Go Youngeun, she startled, but didn't retract what she'd said.

[The doors will close in thirty seconds. There is no turning back.]

“But whether it's a ghost story or a horror movie, have you ever seen things end well for someone who makes a choice based purely on luck and gut feeling?”

“... No, but—”

“Can you really stake your lives like this, without any reasoning or deduction?”

The anxious passengers hesitated briefly, then burst out angrily.

“Well, have you made some brilliant deduction yourself?”

“You've been doing nothing but holding us up this whole time...”

“Just move already! All this talk about reasoning... What is this, the Golden Bell quiz show? Has anyone even given us a hint?”

“Yes.”

“...?”

“We are being given hints.”

I caught my breath.

Then I raised a hand and pointed up at the train's electronic display, where the speaker was mounted.

“The announcements.”

[“For a comfortable journey to your final destination, please listen carefully to the announcements.”]

The announcements had helpfully told us that from the very beginning.

“They keep telling us to pay attention to the announcements and follow them. Quite explicitly.”

With that in mind...

As the next announcement conveniently followed, I asked a question.

[Passengers whose final destination is Rapture Station must disembark as instructed by the announcement.]

“Is anyone here's final destination Rapture Station?”

“...”

“...”

Everyone stopped moving.

“B-but it's a good thing, isn't it?”

“To live in rapture, I mean, happily, that's the purpose of life...”

“So, is Rapture Station your final destination right now?”

“...”

“...”

Everyone seemed to sense that something was off.

But one or two turned their anger on me instead.

“Do any of us even have a destination right now? You don't know either, so why are you interfering?”

“If we can't get off here because of you and end up failing to escape, will you take responsibility? Will you?”

Would I take responsibility?

“Yes.”

“...!”

“Huh...?”

“I'll take responsibility.”

That was an easy question.

'I was planning to escape with you anyway.'

Besides, getting off here was definitely the wrong answer. There was no chance my answer would be worse than this.

But apparently they hadn't expected that response. The person froze for a moment, mouth hanging open.

“...”

My forceful stance seemed to have seriously shaken their resolve. I could see them wavering.

[The platform screen doors are closing...]

Meanwhile, the doors shut.

“Oh...”

I stepped aside. A few people who had been staring blankly at the doors pressed themselves against them.

But no one was angrily demanding to know why I had stopped them anymore.

'Was that... enough?'

Just as I was feeling reasonably satisfied, an urgent shout rang out.

“Oh! Everyone in the car ahead got off!”

“...!”

Everyone got off?

I immediately looked out the train window too.

It wasn't everyone, but five or six people really did seem to have disembarked together.

“...”

I exhaled.

I really, truly didn't want to see what was about to happen.

But I would have to watch if I wanted to make a coherent case to the others later. Damn it...

Swallowing my curses, I narrowed my eyes until the view outside the window blurred.

“Huh? They're running!”

The people who had disembarked seemed to have decided to move quickly, without wasting any time. I could see five or six figures sprinting toward the platform exit, where the stairs were.

But they were too late.

“Aagh!”

The platform floor began to boil with a yellow glow, and the runners' feet started sinking into it as though melting into the ground.

“G-gold...?”

It was a bizarre sight, as if their lower bodies were turning to gold and fusing to the floor.

They seemed to be screaming and struggling to run, but they slowed more and more...

Until finally, the bodies, reduced to their upper halves, staggered and toppled in front of the stairs.

Even those turned into glittering gold.

Into the easiest means of attaining rapture.

“Eek.”

“Hh!”

[The train is departing Rapture Station.]

Inside the departing car, only shocked gasps and muffled sobs could be heard.

One of the people who had wanted to get off grabbed me urgently.

“Y-you said you'd take responsibility. Can you guarantee you'll really find somewhere safe? Can you?”

“Yes.”

I answered firmly.

I was baffled by the logical leap that had suddenly made my ability to produce the right answer a foregone conclusion. But the truth was, I was in no state to say anything else.

'This is killing me. Seriously.'

My legs were shaking so badly I thought I might collapse...!

The sight of people's lower bodies bursting kept replaying in low resolution inside my head, making my stomach churn.

One thing was certain: even if I got out alive, there was no way I was sleeping tonight.

In the middle of all this, Baek Saheon spoke to me admiringly.

“You're impressive, sir.”

“... Sir?”

“Oh, I have a habit of calling people sir when I meet them.”

Then he smiled awkwardly and added,

“You don't see many people like you these days. People can't just firmly say yes or no. We end up saying things like, ‘In my opinion, it seems like...’”

“...”

“I hope the outcome lives up to your guarantee.”

Uh... thanks for the kind wishes, but this wasn't the time for such lukewarm, detached remarks.

'If we don't get a good outcome, you're going to die too...'

Wait.

No.

There was something I'd overlooked while whining about how scared I was.

'If <Records of Dark Exploration> has records of Baek Saheon working as an employee, that means he passed this entrance test, doesn't it?'

Then couldn't I just follow him off at whatever station he chose?

Me, him, and Ms. Go Youngeun if I convinced her—that made three. When people actively supported a decision and followed someone off, the others would be much more likely to follow in a crowd.

'Was there such an easy solution all along?'

“Mr. Baek Saheon.”

“Yes?”

“Is there a station you would like to get off at? I mean... is there a word you're thinking of, a name that would make you decide to get off if a station with that name came up?”

“... Uh, why so suddenly?”

“I'd like to hear a range of opinions.”

“Oh.”

Baek Saheon seemed to think for a moment, then shrugged.

“Not really. I don't know much about this sort of thing.”

“I see.”

Had he not had any particular intuition yet?

I nodded readily. It seemed like a fairly good idea anyway, so I would keep an eye on him—

DING-DONG.

[Attention, passengers. This is an announcement from the Abyss Transit Authority to ensure a comfortable journey. Please listen carefully.]

“...!”

The announcements had started again.

Everyone stopped talking and immediately looked up.

[The train will now be traveling through a curved section of track. Noise and shaking may occur.]

[Please remain seated to prevent accidents.]

Oh, for fuck's sake. Seriously.

“Let's all sit down.”

Everyone quickly took a seat without objection.

They were so fast that bringing up the announcements earlier had clearly been worth it.

Even the person who had thrown a fit about getting off was among the first to sit in the nearest seat, lips tightly sealed.

But apparently, that wasn't true of everyone.

“Oh! The car ahead!”

“Those people...”

In the car ahead, everyone was standing, seemingly too busy arguing fiercely with one another.

I couldn't make out exactly what they were saying, but their shouting had probably drowned out the announcement.

It was obvious just looking at them. Seeing the people who had been beside them moments earlier die in ways they could never have imagined seemed to have sent them into a total panic.

“Sh-shouldn't we try saying something?”

“Hey! Can you hear us?!”

“Sit down!”

The recruits seated near the next car shouted. But the people ahead barely looked at them, and one who happened to meet their eyes actually started coming toward us.

“Sit down!”

“No, don't come over here, sit—”

Too late.

[Entering the curved section...]

The lights went out.

“...!”

In the darkness, the train began to shake with a deafening roar.

A shrill sound rang out over it.

Screams.

“Aaaaaagh!!”

“Aagh, ah, aaagh...”

The sound of something wet bursting.

A sound like ripe grapes being squeezed hard.

It rang out, muffled.

... As though there were a single door between us.

“...”

“...”

I could hear the faint, trembling breaths of the people in our car, who had instinctively fallen silent.

Then the lights came on.

...

Through the narrow window in the door at the front of our car, the car ahead came into view.

It was covered in blood and filth.

In that insane scene, as though only the living things had been put through a grinder, no recognizable trace of a person remained.

Everyone was dead.

[It is now safe to leave your seats. Thank you very much for your cooperation.]

In stark contrast to the crisp announcement, panicked voices filled the train.

“Let me out! Let me out!”

“Haaah, haaah... What is this? What the hell is this... Mom.”

Yet even in that state, the recruits covered their mouths and stifled their voices, struggling to listen to the announcements.

They had just been proven to be a literal lifeline!

'Damn it.'

Things were certainly moving in a direction favorable to my survival, but now that it was real, it was so horrific that cold sweat beaded on my forehead.

Ignoring the trembling of the hand I used to wipe it away, I gritted my teeth.

I couldn't look at the door to the next car anymore.

'Convincing them. Just focus on convincing them...'

When the right station came up in a few more stops, surely everyone would get off with me—

[Attention, passengers. This is an announcement from the Abyss Transit Authority to ensure a comfortable journey. Please listen carefully.]

The announcements had started again.

“Again?!”

“H-h-hic...”

Cutting through the terrified passengers' sobs, the crisp, mechanical recording continued its instructions.

On a completely unexpected subject.

[There is a lost item.]

Wait.

My head shot up.

[If you find the lost item, please disembark at the next station and hand it over to a station employee.]

I knew this case.

'... An escape case from the miscellaneous records!'

* * *

Records of Dark Exploration / Ghost Stories /

/ Welcome to the Abyss Transit Authority

3.4 Miscellaneous Records (Escape)

A document recording irregular survival cases in which escape was achieved by means other than disembarking at a station.

Several methods have been observed repeatedly. (The most frequently recorded are “Temporary Stop to Maintain Train Spacing” and “Lost Item Announcement.”)

* * *

A guaranteed ticket out.

As long as you had the announced lost item, you could safely escape!

Except...

'Only one person gets out.'

... For someone like me, who couldn't leave alone, this survival ticket had been out of the question from the start.

I clenched both hands tightly.

'Then who on earth should I send out?'

No, was sending someone out even the right answer?

And then...

[The lost item is “the left eyeball of an adult male in his twenties with type A blood.”]

A lost item I could never have imagined was announced.